QPC Lasers ships eye-safe laser engines to US defense contractors

February 21, 2007, Sylmar, CA--QPC Lasers has developed and shipped high-brightness semiconductor laser engines to two US defense contractors for high-energy laser weapons development at eye-safe wavelengths. The deliveries are important milestones in QPC's ongoing contract with the US Army .

The high-energy laser technology that QPC is currently developing is efficient, lightweight, compact and operates in the eye-safe wavelength range to minimize potential unintended effects of scattered laser light from the target or atmosphere. Prior generations of high-energy lasers are either based on chemical laser technology -- generally inefficient and bulky -- or on electric solid state lasers, which operate at eye hazardous wavelengths.

"Operation at eye-safe wavelengths is critical for broadly deployable lasers for directed energy defense applications," said Paul Rudy, QPC VP of Marketing and Sales.

QPC's shipments to US defense contractors consisted of conduction cooled, fiber coupled modules and high-power water cooled modules. These products utilize QPC's proprietary Internal Grating semiconductor laser technology to achieve high spectral brightness and stability at 1532 nm, an eye-safe wavelength ideally suited for efficient pumping Er:YAG laser systems that operate at the eye-safe wavelength of 1640 nm.

For more information, contact QPC Lasers.